The name Baggillay is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in Cheshire, where they were held estates at Baggiley. The family name was originally derived from the name of this manorial seat. The word baggiley in ancient Saxon means high ground. These place names are generally thought to derive from an Old English personal nameBacga and the Old English word leah, meaning a clearing in the woods.

Baggillay Early Origins

The surname Baggillay was first found in Shropshire at Bagley, a small rural village in the parish of Hordley. The earliest record of the place name was found in c.1090 when it was listed as Bageleia. [1]CITATION[CLOSE]Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) Bagley-Wood is a hamlet in the hundred of Hormer, in Berkshire. "A monastery was founded here by Cissa, viceroy of Centwine, ninth king of Wessex; which was removed to Abingdon in 680, that town and its appendages having been assigned to it by Ceadwalla. " [2]CITATION[CLOSE]Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. While the surname probably originated in Shropshire, we must look to Cheshire to find the earliest records. The family was Lords of the Manor of Baggiley and held a family seat there from ancient times. Baguley Hall near Manchester was built in the 14th century by Sir William de Baguley, or possibly by one of his sons. It may have replaced an 11th or 12th century structure. "[Baguley in Cheshire] was at an early period the property of the Baguleys, whose heiress brought it to the Leghs; the latter sold it." [2]CITATION[CLOSE]Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.

Baggillay Spelling Variations

Baggillay Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Baggillay family name include Bagley, Baggeley, Baggiley, Baggaley, Bageley, Baggelay, Bagly and many more.

Baggillay Early History

Baggillay Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Baggillay research. Another 231 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1260, 1327, 1382, 1379, 1220 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Baggillay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baggillay Early Notables (pre 1700)

Baggillay Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Baggillay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baggillay In Ireland

Baggillay In Ireland

Some of the Baggillay family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

The Great Migration

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Baggillay surname or a spelling variation of the name include : James Bagley who settled in Virginia in 1639; Thomas Bagly settled in Virginia in 1641; Elizabeth Bagley settled in Virginia in 1638; and Philip Bagley settled in Virginia in 1635. John Bagley settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1750 and founded one of America's most distinguished families..

The Baggillay Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Baggillay Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.